Webster’s dictionary defines a mentor as a “wise and faithful counselor.” In my personal life I look to my father as the man I want to be. In my business my mentor is Jim Cockrum, recently named one of the most trusted internet marketers.

I have been following Jim since about 2004, but I had the pleasure of first meeting him in 2012. I had no idea, but that lunch meeting changed my business forever. One idea he presented to me has catapulted our business far beyond what I could have imagined. Since then we have partnered on a book project and I suspect we’ll partner in many more projects.

Who is your mentor? I challenge you to find someone that has built the type of business you want to have and has character qualities that you admire.

It’s amazing what you can get when you just ask. Even though I’m going to focus on applying this to your business, this can also be applicable to other areas. My wife and I have found favor and received upgrades at the airport and at hotels just by simply asking.

In your business don’t be afraid to ask for discounts – especially with vendors you do a lot of business with. In our furniture business we were able to negotiate a 5% discount with two of our major suppliers. 5% doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you’re talking about a higher ticket item like furniture, it adds up to be thousands of dollars per year in savings.

If you’re wanting to sell physical products (anything tangible that must be shipped) on the internet one of the best places to start is Ebay.

Why Ebay?

There are many reasons, but here are 3 obvious ones:

1. Traffic

Ebay is ranked #22 worldwide for traffic and ranked #7 in the US. You can certainly start with your own website, but then you have to drive traffic to it. Ebay already has traffic so why not go where all the people already are?